Stranger Stars
by OGtomahawk
Summary: AU taking place after the events of Halo 4 and at the midpoint of the Clone Wars. M for language.
1. The Story Begins

Stranger Stars

Date: 6th of June, 2559

Location: Outer orbit of the planet Harvest

In the twinkling blackness of space, two starships pressed out into the void. The human planet of Harvest loomed behind them. The surface of the planet, which used to be green, was now a solid gray after having been glassed from orbit by the hostile alien conglomerate known as the Covenant. Many other human colonies felt the same wrath. But Humanity, determined as ever, now worked to chip away the glass and make the planet livable again. Unfortunately, that would take years of work. For some companies it was easier to simply find new planets. Which was the goal of the two ships that were preparing to depart.

Side-by-side floated the the _Phoenix-class_ colony ship, _Horizon,_ and directly to starboard the UNSC _Halcyon-class_ cruiser _Mustang._ Both ships were recently launched and christened from the UNSC shipyards on Mars. After the Human-Covenant war, the UEG had taken to escorting colony ships on their voyages to unexplored star-systems. It was necessary to deter Kig-yar pirates and rogue alien elements. The _Mustang_ would provide security for the colonial workers while they set up shop. It was a simple task for a ship of her size and capability.

On the bridge of the _Mustang_ stood Captain Erin Martin, a battle-hardened veteran of the war. He was engaged in discussion with his much younger counterpart, Captain Ray Guntner, over holographic comms. Gunter was the civilian captain of the _Horizon._ He was appointed by the Liang corporation to organize the colonization.

"We'll arrive in orbit around XB555172 "Beta" in roughly two weeks. From there I'll take the _Horizon_ to the surface, while you watch over us from orbit." Capt. Guntner said while his one foot tall hologram gestured to a map of a planet.

Capt. Martin looked down at the map with arms crossed. It was a good looking planet. He could see why Liang Corp wanted to claim it despite its distance. "Sounds like a plan, Mr. Guntner. What do you say we put it into action?" Capt. martin replied enthusiastically.

"Right, then. Let's get moving. Transmitting coordinates to you now, Captain. _Horizon_ , out." With that, Guntners hologram faded away. It was replaced by a green hologram of an 18th century English naval captain. It was the ships AI, Sherwood.

"Coordinates for XB555172 received and verified, sir. Harvest Control has cleared us for synchronized slip-space entry." The AI spoke with a heavy english accent.

"Copy that, Sherwood. Take us in." Martin moved to his command station and pressed a button on the handrail.

"Attention all hands, prepare for slip-space jump. Lockdown all cargo." Martin spoke clearly and concisely.

"Aye aye, sir." Sherwood replied happily.

Both ships began to move forward. A large blue ring with a black center formed infront of them. It was a slip-space portal, and it was large enough to swallow both ships. Exactly as intended. The _Mustang_ and the _Horizon_ made their way inside. After the front half of both ships had entered the portal, there was a sudden and large explosion on the starboard aft engine of the _Horizon_. Blasts ripped through the hull along the engines. Debris was launched into space. The _Horizon_ began to veer sharply off course. The portal closed and both ships disappeared, leaving only the empty black. And Harvest Control with alot of paperwork.


	2. Into a galaxy far far away

Meanwhile, in a galaxy far far away...

It was high-noon local time on Ryloth. The Republic friendly planet was on the front lines of the galactic civil war and was continuously engulfed in fighting as the CIS attempted to seize the resource-rich world. While fighting raged on the ground, ships battled in space. Two Republic cruisers were engaging with three Separatist frigates, while a third cruiser burned and fell from orbit. This was a minor battle compared to what the Confederation had previously thrown at the Republic forces.

Admiral Yularen stood on the bridge of the _Resolute_. He looked out the bridges large observation windows as fighters flew past and laser fire erupted around them. This battle was not going well. He was on his own, as General Skywalker was busy fighting a Seppy invasion force on the surface. Still, the Admiral stood calm as ever while clones managed their stations all around the bridge.

"Increase forward deflector shields! Focus all fire on the lead ship." Yularen commanded. Clones stationed in the small centers on either side of the bridge swiftly carried out his orders.

The Admiral braced slightly as a vulture droid erupted in flames and careened past the window, two torrent fighters hot on its tail. One of the bridge officers called up to him.

"Sir, we're getting...strange readings. It's like there's another ship coming out of hyperspace, but at the same time there isn't." The confused clone awaited a response.

Yularen could tell the clone was a newer member of the crew. He was slightly annoyed that the soldier would come to him with an insignificant problem at a time like this. "It's likely that you're instruments have been damaged, lieutenant. Now is not the time for-" The Admiral was suddenly cut off as a large black orb exploded into existence between the Republic and Confederate ships. It caught the attention of every soldier on the bridges of both the Republic and Confederate ships. Lights and monitors flickered as the spacial anomaly continued. Blue streaks of light emanated from the portal.

Bits of fiery debris began to spill out, followed by two ships. One appeared to be heavily damaged. Large fires could be seen spouting from holes in the ship, along with venting oxygen. The second appeared to be normal. Except, that it didn't match anything in the Grand Armies ship database.

Onboard the _Mustang_ , Captain Martin picked himself up off the bulkhead. Many other members of the crew did the same. Sparks fizzled from damaged electronics. He clambered to his command console. "What in Gods name just happened, Sherwood? Did we just get attacked? Damage assessment, now!" Sherwoods hologram appeared on the table. His expression showed he was in control, but slightly confused.

"I don't believe so, sir. The _Horizon_ appears to have experienced a slipspace malfunction. We are structurally fine, but the Shaw-Fujikawa drive is offline...Uh, sir, Look." Sherwood pointed out the ships observation window. Floating directly infront of them was the wreck of the _Horizon_. The ship looked like someone put it in a meat grinder. Further behind it loomed a desert planet that in no way resembled planet XB555172. There was so much to take in that the Captain did not notice the five other ships that they had just appeared in the middle of.

"Fucking hell." Martin stared on in awe. "Begin rescue of the _Horizon_ s crew. Find out where we are. See if you can get FLEETCOM on the line. In that order."

Sherwood replied with haste. "All tasks impossible, Captain. The _Horizon_ is drifting towards that planet. In 1.3 hours she will begin entering the atmosphere. And I do not know where we are. These stars do not resemble any of my star maps. It is possible that we are in an unknown section of the Milky Way. For the same reason, I cannot raise FLEETCOM. There are no communications bouys within...anywhere." Sherwood paused for a second. "And we may have other problems, sir." Several ships appeared on the holo-table. Two triangle ships that were several kilometers to port, and to starboard there were three other uniquely shaped vessels.

"These ships do not exist in the UNSCs database. And judging by appearances, they are heavily armed."

It took a second for Capt. Martin process all this before responding. "Label all contacts R1 through 5. Identify a lead ship and hail them." The communications officer pressed a few buttons on his console and turned to the Captain. "Uh, sir. We're the ones being hailed. It's coming from contact R1. "

Sherwood chimed in aswell. "Contacts R3, R4 and R5 are breaking off. I think our arrival startled them."

The three CIS frigates and their droid commanders were confused by the new arrivals. Spacial anomalies were not covered in their programming. They disengaged and began retreating to report this to General Grievous. Onboard the _Resolute_ Admiral Yularen had hailed the ships. He recognized that they were military in nature, but they definitely didn't belong to the republic. He ordered that the shields remain at full power. He also ordered that the fighters pull back but remain at the ready.

Martin wasn't sure of these new contacts. Recent scans indicated they were larger than any civilian vessel. If this was a first-contact scenario then FLEETCOM would have him court-marshaled for not following protocol. But alas, they were unreachable, and he thought it best not to piss off the beings that might aswell own the _Horizon_ right now. Capt. martin straightened himself. "Ensign, accept their hail. Put it on the main monitor."


	3. First Contact

Deep inside the _Mustang,_ crew members scrambled, tending to their stations as alarms blared. "General quarters, general quarters. All hands to stations. This is not a drill. General quarters, general quarters.", an alarmed voice said over the intercom. The bright lights had been changed to a dim red glow, indicating a state of emergency. It was the same inside the barracks. Scores of marines donned their combat equipment. As soldiers finished rigging their gear they filed out to the armory that was located adjacent to the barracks. There, they received their sidearms and rifles.

At a more secluded end of the barracks, four ODSTs were donning their distinctive armor. The most elite soldiers within the UNSCs ranks, their skill was unmatched in known space. This particular unit was the newly minted "Tanto" squad. Their squad leader, Rick "Cutter" Jackson, a tall pale wall of a human being, was a veteran marine. But he was fresh out of the officer training program.

The squads CQC expert, Mikey, piped up "What'd we run into? Pirates? Apes?"

Rick replied, "Don't know. battle-net says two unidentified ships. Was five. Be ready for anything." Once they finished their equipment check they reported to their duty stations. The objective for them up here was to repel boarders.

The same was happening onboard the two Republic cruisers. Clones took full advantage of the lull in the fighting, and used the time to re-arm and tend to their wounded. Engineers quickly tended to the damaged areas of the ships. Also, onboard the _Resolute_ was CT-7565 "Rex", who was waiting onboard a gunship with the rest of his squad. The rest of 501st were supposed to be deployed to the surface to join their brothers but the two unidentified ships coming out of hyperspace kept the path blocked. Rex was a disciplined soldier but his men grew restless. One trooper in armor with a blue trim interrupted the silence in the craft, "Did the Seppies get reinforcements?" Rex ignored him and awaited new orders, eager to get underway.

All was quiet on the bridge of the _Mustang_ as Captain Martin prepared to accept the alien hail. He stared intently at the holographic table on the bridge as a figure appeared on it. He was taken by surprise by what he saw. He had expected it to be an ugly creature, akin to a Sangheili or a Kig-Yar. Instead it was a human. Specifically, an older male with a mustache. He wore a generic green uniform with a blue and red square pattern on his left breast. The figure spoke first.

"Incoming ship bearing 5901-2065, halt and identify yourself. This is an active war zone. Comply or you will be fired upon. Over."

Captain Martin had a hard time believing this. He had wound up in undiscovered space and an alien race had contacted him. Not only were they human; well, they appeared to be, but they also spoke english. The eggheads were gonna have fun with this one. He replied with as much authority as he could muster.

"This is Captain Erin Martin of the UNSC _Mustang._ We are a capital ship. If you fire upon us, it will be considered an act of war. We must stay our course if we are to attempt rescue of the crew onboard the wreckage of the other ship, you no doubt saw. I also request that you identify yourself. Over."

Admiral Yularen was confused. It was possible this was an undocumented civilization that had just discovered space travel, but they're ships appeared advanced. Something like that doesn't just go unnoticed. He responded, "I am Admiral Yularen. I represent the Grand Army of the Republic. You are in Republic controlled space. You do not seem to understand the circumstances that you have flown into. We control this planet. I will make sure the survivors of that ship are rescued by my forces on the ground. Right now you are to halt, Captain. Over." Admiral Yularen turned to his comms officer. "Inform the General of our situation. He's going to want to know about this."

Meanwhile, Capt. Martin was stuck between a rock and a hard place. His crew would trust his decisions, and he didn't want to make them regret it.

"I recognize your authority, Admiral, but I must refuse your orders. I simply cannot trust you, and it is imperative I save the crew of our damaged ship. We calculate it has 32 minutes before it crashes down on that planet. I intend to follow its trajectory. Please allow me this. My species has recently ended a terrible war. I don't intend to drag them into another. Over."

Admiral Yularen now faced a hard decision, similar to Capt. Martin. His training said not to trust an unknown, but he didn't want to fire on these ships and potentially turn them against the Republic. He made his decision. "Very well. But know that if you deviate from your course at all, I will have no choice but to engage and destroy you. Do you understand?"

Capt. Martin sighed in relief. "That is understood. Thank you, Admiral." He looked to the helmsmen, who nodded. He turned the _Mustang_ onto the trail of the _Horizon_ and began following it into the atmosphere.

Admiral Yularen ordered that his second cruiser stay in orbit, and keep a look out, while he followed the _Mustang_ in the _Resolute_.


	4. Ground Contact

It was a bumpy ride down to the surface. Based on the _Horizons_ trajectory, Sherwood predicted that it would crash on a flat desert plain near the planets capital. A mere 100kms from the nearest fighting. The _Horizon_ was out of control and entered the planets atmosphere at an odd angle. The high-speed and friction caused the hull to bend in a 4 degree arc to port. Large pieces of debris broke off as gravity took its toll. The _Mustang_ followed above and behind her at a decent distance, to avoid taking damage from the debris trail. The _Resolute_ followed closely behind her.

Onboard the _Resolute_ , Rex finally received new orders. Once the strange ship crash landed, the gunships would take he and his men to the crash site to search for survivors. He was instructed to use extreme caution, as the aliens second ship would begin a rescue effort of their own. He will also be receiving reinforcements from a trio of Commander Tanos turbo tanks. The blast doors closed and there was the sound of comm chatter and blasters arming as they prepared for takeoff.

Onboard the _Mustang,_ Tanto squads objective changed. They moved from their post guarding the bridge, to the hangar. For most soldiers this was cause for moans or complaining. But for these ODSTs it was a blessing. They were to join a large contingent of marines and fly in ahead to secure the crash site. With there being no data on this planet they wouldn't know what to expect. Hostile wildlife, angry locals, giant space-faring militaristic robots. It was all a possibility with what's happened so far. After taking their seats in the pelican, Micky and the squads heavy-weapons specialist, James, began discussing what they'd have to defend the crash site from.

"I'll bet it'll be something big. Like those fuckin' dinosaur things they have on Reach." He said enthusiastically, toying with a frag grenade.

James had his SAW resting across his lap. A red maple leaf was painted on the stock. "Nah, it's probably going to be forerunners. What do you think could have done so much damage to the colony ship, eh? I heard the bridge officers talking, ya. Apparently, we're lost. Gotta be some kinda forerunner trick, eh?"

Before Micky could respond, Rick cut in. "Stow the loose talk, gentleman. Get your head in the game. This is unknown territory."

Both ODSTs responded "Aye aye, sir." In unison. Across from them the fourth member of Tanto squad shook her head in mock dissappointment at the two. The quiet marksman nicknamed "Katyusha" had her arms crossed, her visor already completely polarized. The two ODSTs helmets visors polarized and hid their faces as the dropships ramp closed.

The _Horizon_ came in sideways. A massive trail of smoke was left in its wake. A large trail of burning debris was already impacting across the flat desert plain. On the horizon, a large storm-like cloud could be seen. Blue and red lights were erupting inside it. Obviously, it was the site of a major conflict. The _Horizon_ crashed down. Upon hitting the ground the ship practically disintegrated. Massive explosions rocked the terrain and it could be heard for miles around. The ship itself rolled a good 2kms before coming to a halt. The desert around it was peppered with metal bits and smoking pieces of hull.

It was now that the Republic and UNSC ships began launching their forces. The _Resolutes_ belly hangar opened and 6 gunships filled with clone troopers of the 501st descended into the sky. At the same time, 8 pelicans shot out of four hangars on the sides of the _Mustang._ Most had warthogs hanging from under their tail. The 501st gunships flew in two straight lines of three, while the UNSC pelicans formed two V formations. This was a hastily assembled operation. So many aircraft flying in close proximity with no detailed plan or coordination was a recipe for disaster. The flight leads were cautious and made sure to give each other space.

The six gunships landed alongside the wreckage where they opened their blast doors and their white-armored cargo spilled out. Captain Rex barked orders at his men, "Establish a perimeter and prepare to check for survivors. "

He turned to a trooper with a backpack that had a large antenna. "Any word from the General?"

The trooper responded, "No sir. He's engaged in battle. But Commander Tano is 5 clicks out and closing."

"Keep me updated."

"Aye, sir."

The pelicans landed on the opposite side of the wreckage. But they didn't stick around. Once they dropped off their marines and a few warthogs, they departed. Major Thorn was in charge of the marines that landed. He was an old and battle-tested marine. He put his finger to his ear and spoke to his men on comms. "Platoons Sierra, Lima, Alpha, setup a perimeter. Delta, Uniform, begin digging for survivors. Tanto squad, take hog. Make contact with the foreign force. We need to coordinate our effort. All forces, how copy?"

His orders were met with a series of "Yes, sirs." And his soldiers began executing their assigned tasks.

As soon as they their boots hit the dust, Tanto had acquired a hog. Upon receiving orders from the Major, Rick conveyed them to the rest of Tanto. The hog they acquired was a reconnaissance hog. Unlike other variants it was faster, but at the cost of any heavy weaponry. Rick took the passenger seat while Micky drove. Katyusha and James rode in the bed. Micky gunned it and hog rolled away from their landing site, leaving a cloud of dust behind it. He drove past the burning and blackened wreckage, passed what was once the stern. Instead of looking jagged and burnt like the rest of the ship, the engines had melted. As a result the damage to the stern made it look smooth and curvy. The damage had to have been caused by extreme sustained high-temperatures.

After arriving on the other side, they could see the Republic landing site. Several humanoid figures move about, wearing stark-white armor and carrying rifles.

"Approach slowly." Rick advised Micky. Who, began to let off the gas a little and let the hog slow down as they approached the small force.

The clone forces took notice of the approaching vehicle as it came into view. A squad of six with Rex at their head moved into its path. They prepared to greet them, but they kept their weapons at the ready, just in case.

Micky slowed and eventually stopped a few meters from the clone formation. Tanto squad dismounted. Katyusha and Micky on the left, James and Rick on the right. Like the clones, they kept their weapons lowered but at the ready. Rick held his hand up, signaling Tanto to stay put while he approached. He walked slowly. Rex also stepped forward. As if on queue, the two took off their helmets at the same time.

Rex was the first to speak. "Captain CT-7567, of the Grand Army of the Republic. Call me Rex."

Rick appraised the Captain for a mere second. The most notable thing about this soldier was the blue markings on his armor. He must have been a veteran. He replied, "Lieutenant Rick Jackson. UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. At your service."

Rex studied his counterpart aswell. Rex frowned a little at his equipment. The soldiers gear seemed clunky. It wasn't as streamlined as a clones. "Good to meet you Lieutenant. Are you the one incharge of the ground forces?"

Rick replied, "Negative. That would be Major Thorn. I'm just here to setup the lines of communication." Rick signaled for Micky to bring him a radio. Micky retrieved a small black box with an antenna from James' backpack and brought it to him. Rick then held out to Rex. Who, took the device.

"This'll let you get into direct contact with our CO. It's already setup. Just hit that black button to speak and then release it when you're done."

"Thanks." Rex said before holding the radio up and speaking into it. "Major Thorn, come in. This is Captain Rex of the Grand Army of the Republic. I've made contact with a team sent by you. We're ready to help you save your people from this wreckage."

A moment passed before a reply came. "Greetings, Captain. Major Thorn speaking. Glad to here you're on our side."

"Well, not necessarily, Major. I've been ordered to help you with your rescue effort and that's all."

"That's enough for me."

"We've begun digging already. I should advise you we have an armored unit 3 clicks out and closing. They'll help us out. But I just thought I should advise you so you don't shoot at her."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the warning. Tell my Lieutenant he works for you. Now Whaddya say we get this effort rolling?"

"Will do. Captain Rex, out."

Rex then tried to give the radio back to Rick but Rick waved it away. "Keep it."

Rex replied, "Right. You heard you're Major, right?" Rick nodded and Rex continued. He gestured to a group of clones sifting through rubble. "Alright I'll need you to bolster my-" He was cut off by the sound of a blaster, and one of his clones having their head shot clean off.

One shouted, "SNIPER!".

Most of the clones ducked behind the gunships. Tanto squad reacted quickly and jumped behind their hog. No one could tell where it came from. There was nothing but desert so the enemy had to be camouflaged. James leveled his rifle on the hogs hood. He began strafing left to right. The tracers from his MG peppered the sand, hopefully suppressing any contacts.

Rex called out from behind his cover, the remains of a tractor from the _Horizons_ vehicle bay. "It's a commando droid! If you see it, aim for the head!"

James replied, "Copy that!" And continued to spray fire left-to-right. That was, until a red laser-like projectile impacted the hogs hood, directly infront of him. He was forced to duck down. "I saw'em. 250 meters out. Prone."

"I got this." Katyusha popped up, looking over the hogs bed. Her eyes stared down the sight of her Longshot Battle Rifle. She pulled the trigger once, firing a 3-round burst. She saw one puff of dust and 2 sparks. This indicated two of her bullets had the target while one missed and hit the sand.

Next she saw movement. The target was well camouflaged. An untrained eye would not have been wiser to the enemies location. But she was. She fired three more bursts rapidly. The shots hit their mark. Still, the droid did not go down, but now it was panicked. It sat up and began firing rapidly at her. At this point she was forced to duck. Then, the clones opened up on it. A volley of blue fire from their blasters impacted the area and the droid went down.

Rex called out to his men as everyone began to move out from cover. "It's down! Now everyone hurry up! It had enough time to report our location!" Rex opened up a link with Commander Tano on his communicator. "Commander, we've been engaged. Watch yourself as you approach."

A female voice replied. "Thanks for the update. I'll be there soon."


End file.
